Love Game
by Kagomae
Summary: A family of four passes through Travis county and meets the Sheriff. The sheriff accidentally meets an old friend's daughter. What will happen between these two?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was quiet. There hasn`t been food for about a few days now. Thomas is getting restless. Luda Mae is unusually quiet. Monty keeps flicking the T.V channels. Drayton`s stomach keeps making gurgling noises. And I sit in the car a few kilometres away from the house waiting for someone to pass by. I hope someone comes soon.

I run a hand through my gray hair and sigh. I sit there for a moment or two before opening the car door and stepping outside into the Texas heat. I pull my shades out of my shirt pocket and put them on and tilt my hat a little bit forward. I close the car door and lean against the car itself. I missed the good old days. Me, Chop Top, and Drayton would go down to the watering hole to cool off on days like this.

I hear a noise rumbling off in a distance to my left and turn my head. I tilt my hat back a bit to see a car that seems to be speeding. I get into the car and get the speed thermometer out to check the speed. The fastest you can go down this road is 60 m/ph. I point the thing towards the window to my left to wait for the car to pass. 100 m/ph; the car is speeding. A good reason to pull them over and take them home for supper. I turn on the siren and start the car to catch up. To my surprise the car pulled over immediately to the left hand side of the road.

I walk up to the driver`s window and tap lightly. The window rolls down and the man sticks his head out the window. I bend down to get eye level with the man. I examine the back seat to see two teens; one listening to music and the other playing a game system thingy. I`m too old to even know what it is. I look across to the passenger seat to see a young woman wearing a white dress with yellow flowers on it.

"Was I speeding officer?" "Yes sir you were. I`m afraid I`m gonna have to give ya a ticket." I started writing the ticket even though the man kept giving me excuses. "Ow. Dad Jack hit me." I watch the man turn around and hit the poor boy in the face. "Please let`s not start here dear." I hear the woman beside him say.

"Well here`s your ticket sir. And may I ask were ya`ll headed for?" "Oh. We`re going to Mexico for family vacation. By the way do you happen to know if there is an inn nearby? My family I and are tired from the trip." I just smile at the man and nod my head. "You folks could stay at my house for a night. That sound good?" "That would be great sheriff..." "Hoyt." I said looking at the young woman. "Yes well that does sound nice sheriff Hoyt but do you know where we can get food too?" "My house. My ma won`t mind one bit."

I see the young woman lean over and whisper something in his ear. "Well sheriff it turns out my wife thinks it would be proper if I introduced us all. I`m Markus, this is my daughter Rachael, my son Tim, and my wife Jean-Louise." Jean-Louise. That`s a nice name. "Well mighty nice to meet you lot. Just keep going down the road and you will come across a large mansion. That`s my house. Oh and one more thing. Don`t go over the speed limit." The man fakes a smile and closes the window and starts heading down the road.

I watch as the car leaves nothing but a trail of dust behind him. I walk over to the car and open the door. I pick up the radio and hold the button down. "Chop Top. Come in Chop Top." I wait in silence for a couple of moments before the radio stutters to life. "This is Chop Top. Over." "We have some guest coming over soon. Over" "...ABOUT TIME!" I hear him and a few of the others howling. When the howling and celebrating is over I hear some of the others talk about their favourite dishes to have. "Chop Top." "Yeah." "There is a young woman with them named Jean-Louise. Does that name ring a bell?" There is nothing but silence for a few minutes. "Yeah it does but I can`t remember. What does she look like?" "She has brown hair, brown eyes, a white dress with yellow flowers on it and is married to the man." "Are ya sure?" "Yeah. I am." There is nothing more but silence for a few more minutes. "Listen they just got here. Can you come home and we can talk about this in private...and in person?" "Sure. See ya soon." I hang up the radio and start the car up. I then keep thinking about that young woman for some odd reason. I start heading towards the house wondering why I why should know her but why can`t I remember her. I guess I have a surprise in waiting for me.

This is my first TCM love story. I like Hoyt for some odd reason. I don`t know why but I just like him. I hope you like this first chapter. Please review! Thanks! Also if you are wondering why I changed the first chapter it`s because I didn`t like the way the story was already turning out to be. Besides this is the original plot idea for this story. Please forgive me!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Well we lived in Boston for a couple years before we moved to L.A." "Oh Hoyt! You`re back. Why don`t you go get cleaned up for our guests." I look up and nod my head at Monty. I open the front screen door and crossed the threshold. I turn my head towards the stairs wondering about the woman`s name. It`s on the tip of my tongue but I can`t figure it out.

I walk towards the step with some of the floor boards creaking from age and being walked on too much. I walk up the stairs and turn to the right and head straight past Drayton`s door. The moment I got in front of Chop Tops room the door flew open and six hands came out of the pitch black room and dragged me into it. I was pulled with a little too much force that I lost my footing and we all fell to the floor. Then I heard footsteps going towards the door; turning my head I saw Thomas with a new mask on his face.

"We wanted to talk to you about Jean-Louise." I hear a click and notice that someone had turned on a lamp on the bedside table. "Well you didn`t need to get aggressive." I stand up and brush myself off then sit on the edge of the bed. "Turns out she`s from Texas herself." I look towards Drayton who was leaning against the door with his shoulders slouched. "We were going to ask her and her family to join us for dinner tonight." I nod my head absentmindedly; all of a sudden I feel a whack on the back of my head.

"OW! Now what in blue blazes was that for?!" "Well you were drifting. I wanted to make sure you were paying attention. That and I felt like it." I glare at Chop Top and then glare at Thomas for giggling at it. I sigh deeply then place my face into the palm of my hands burying my face. Why can`t I remember this girl? Did I even know this girl to begin with!? "You ok?" I look at Drayton from the corner of my eye. I stand up and put my hat back on my head. I walk towards the door and open it showing them that I`m not entirely ok. "Yeah...I`ll be fine."

I look towards the stairs and see the young daughter of the couple listening to her music on the top of the staircase. I walk over and glance down the stairs to see Monty wheel himself to the kitchen. I look back to the girl; Rachael right? "Hey there darling. Whatcha listening too?" I watch the girl look up at me and give me a cocked eyebrow. "Mind your damn business **_sheriff_**" I just blinked at the young girl and started down the stairs while still feeling the hostile glare she was giving. I go out to where Monty and Jean-Louise were on the front porch. "Well Hi sheriff." I turn my head to the right and see Jean-Louise smiling at me; I smiled back at her.

"Hey there honey. I see you guys found the place ok huh." "Well not so easy as we thought. We had to turn the car around because we had missed the path coming up to the house." I chuckled a little. "Well that does tend to happen here. People think it ain't so hard but with the trees it does tend to cover most of the road and the view you get." "True but I have to say you have a lovely sized home." I sat on the bench next to her and took my hat off. The wind slightly picked up and the sound of a few crows cawing in the distance echoed. I looked at her and smiled warmly.

"**Jean**" We both turn our heads to the front door to see her husband, Markus, glaring at us. "I need to talk to you about something. **Now.**" I look back at Jean to see her have a disappointed look on her face. Then she looks at me smiles then gets up and walks to Markus. She then enters the house with him watching her every step. He then turns his gaze back on me. For a moment our eyes locked almost as if we were challenging the other. I can tell he is an Alpha male but he should know better than to cross another Alpha male himself. "Markus are you coming?" He turns away and shouts in reply "I'll be right there." He looks back at me for a second, takes a deep breath, and walks into the house.

I smile to myself and look back out over the porch. I take my hat off and lightly pound my fist into the top of the inside of the hat while sighing. Then I leaned back taking in the scene before me. Tree's gently covering the road with the breeze blowing through them getting windy as the minute passed. The crows still going on like women do at a tea party with the latest gossip and in the back ground I hears dishes clinkering, water running, people's voices, and the old grandfather clock chiming on the hour as scheduled. I put my hat back on my head and tilt it over my eyes while crossing my arms. After a few minutes I fell alseep.

Author's Note:

Ok I have no good excuse to not keep up my writing. I am sorry to all who are following me as an author or following my stories. I am now setting a personal goal on how to write my stories. Any reviews or critiques or positive feedback will much be appreciated. Thanks guys! I also am doing a rewite on how to make this a little more suspenseful too.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dream Sequence:

_I open my eyes and find myself looking at 3 bridesmaids holding a white and yellow flower bouquet. I look around me and realised I was at the altar. I look up at the ceiling letting my trail go from the back to the front to where light was being cast from the stain glass window. I look out to the benches and in the front I see Monty, Luda Mae, Thomas, Nubbins, Chop Top, and Drayton. I see a mirror across from where I'm standing and I see my reflection. I touch my face with fascination and realised i look like I was 25 again. All of a sudden the piano begins to play and everyone stands up. I look towards the back of the building and see a young woman walk towards me with a bouquet of flowers (same as the bridesmaids) and what looks to be her mother. I walk down and meet her halfway I smile at her mother and then take the woman on my arm and walk back to the altar. I look to see the woman's face but it's covered by her veil. We reach the altar and as I start to lift her veil..._

"Hoyt wake up its dinner time." I awoke with a violent shake and look up to see Drayton standing over me shaking my arm like a mad man. I look out over the porch and see the sun starting to set. I get up without a word and move towards the front door. "You had that dream again didn't ya?" just as I was about to open the door I froze in my tracks and just give Drayton a sad look. "Yeah". I stare at him for a few more moments then push the front door and walk inside with him close behind.

We start walking towards the dining room while in an awkward silence. Once we reached the dining room we took our seat at the table. I look across from where I was sitting and stare absentmindedly at the wall. All the while I listen in on the conversation between Mae and Monty.

"Is supper almost ready Luda Mae?" "About 10 more minutes. Oh Hoyt good you're awake. How was your sleep?" I look at her and just murmur a reply. Her smile faded away then she looked to Monty and then to Drayton. "He had **that** dream again." She gave a silent ah and Monty just stared at me. I leaned against the table with my hand holding my head up. Mae turned herself back to the little stove and continued on with making the food.

Uncle Monty squeaks his way over with his somewhat rusted wheelchair. He puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze. I sit up straight and I push my bangs out of my face. "Hoyt supper's ready. Could you go get everyone?" I smile at Mae and nod my head. I get up from the kitchen and start going towards the stairs in the front hallway. After getting to the second floor I go towards Chop Top's and Nubbin's room. I gently rap my fist against the door. I wait for a few moments before trying again. _'What the hell are they doing?'_ I was now irritated after the thought that they were doing it on purpose. I bang my fist against the door. "No one home I take it?" I jumped at the voice from behind me. I quickly turned around and see Jean-Louise standing there smiling warmly at me.

"Well I was just getting the rest of the house for supper. But the two "idiots" who live in this here room ain't responding." She chuckles slightly with her hand covering her mouth. "You said you're name is Jean-Louise right?" "Yes that's correct but you can call me Jean or Louise. Or the occasionally Jenny." I turn my body to face her completely. "Well then Jean if you don't mind me asking. What brings you through this little town? Other than going to Mexico." Her face fell slightly. "If you don't mind sheriff I just have some old problems that I need some closure." I nod my head. "If it makes you feel any better I still have problems myself. Not going into detail but needless to say I never had a true father to put simply." She puts her hand on my arm and rubs my arm for a few seconds.

"Hey you two Ma says it's time for dinner." We turn out heads to see Nubbins staring at us. I had a confused look on my face. "I thought you were in your room?" "No me and metal head went for a swim a while ago. We just got back." "Well then I guess I should get my family. See you at the table sheriff?" I turn my head and give her a raised eye brow look as if I was saying 'yeah I'll be there'. "Excuse me then tell Luda Mae we'll be down momentarily." She turns away and starts walking towards the guest room where they are sleeping in. I turn around and see Nubbins with a smirk on his face. I snarl at him then start making my way down the stairs dreading on how the evening could go wrong.

Author's Note:

I am quite happy on how this chapter came out. Feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

We all finally made it to the table and took our normal places with our guests on the extended part of the table. I look up and see Markus at the other end of the table just staring at me. I squinted my eyes at him and now getting irritated with his bad attitude. "Well here we go I hope you guys like soup." We both look away and shift uncomfortably in our chairs. I look up and see Mae glaring at me. I just smile at her pretending I don't know why she's mad as hell. She continues to pour soup into our bowls and hands them out.

I pick up my spoon and dip it into my bowl and I bring it up to my mouth. I blow on it for a second and then slurp it up. I must have been a little noisier than I wanted cause the whole table was staring at me. "Hoyt. Say grace please." I sigh then stand up and clear my throat. "Thank you lord for the bounty that has been given to us and the new friends we share in our lives. Thank you for helping us pass through another day in hell. Amen." I look at Mae and she just palm slaps her face in embarrassment. Monty, Drayton, and Nubbins all give me an irritated look. Markus just gives a confused look; Jean looks just as confused and the two brats aren't even paying attention. I don't care; Never liked saying grace anyhow.

I sit myself back into my sit and we all start eating. "Well I must say sheriff I have never heard any prayer like that before." I look across the table and see Markus with a smirk on his face. I fake a smile towards him. "Well I never did like saying grace. That and I never have been good at it either." "Tell me something sheriff." "Hoyt, Markus. You can call me Hoyt."He stares at me for a few seconds and then blinks a couple of times. "Well then, Hoyt, why is it that this town have no other people living in it except for you and your family?" without looking up I open my mouth and responded. "Well we have too much history to just up and leave to a city. That and we come from a long line of farmers so it's hard to just leave something that's been passed down from generation to generation. Surely you understand this?" "Unfortunately Hoyt my husband doesn't understand what it means I, however, do know." I stare at Jean for a moment. The others by now had slowed their pace of eating to listen in and were trying to be quite.

"Oh you do? May I be imposing on you and ask how you know?" She giggles at me. I feel my body relaxing. "Well you see my family comes from a long line of military men. But the women in my family took up gardening. In fact if I can recall correctly my great-great grandmother had a garden the size of half a football field." "Wow that's impressive sugar. Do you still have the land where it was?" "Well no unfortunately the government took it away because of the size it was they considered it part of our next door neighbours crop. But that garden started about 3 generations before it got to her. That's why it got so big." Nubbins holds a whistle sound for a few moments before I glare at him.

"Well why don't you tell us a little bit about yourselves." "Well we are travelling from our home in Louisiana to Mexico for a month vacation. The kids are off school for the summer so we thought a family trip would be fun." "Yeah like this trip was fun when you f#$king suggested it." We all turned our heads to Rachael; Markus was beaming at his daughter. "What the hell did you just say?" "I said like this **trip** was **fun** when you **f#$king** suggested it." We all sat in a few moments of awkward silence. The only people who seemed to enjoy Rachael's comment was Markus and Tim, her younger brother. "Well Rachael we as a family have grown apart I thought it would be nice to have some memories to share together." "Yeah right. The only good memory we will have of you is when you're six feet down in the ground."

We all stared at Tim with shocked expressions. How could this man let them talk to their mom this way. I was utterly repulsed and disgusted with the both of them. I looked at Mae and then Monty before turning my attention to Jean. "I-I..." Jean was shaking from the comments. "Please excuse me" She got up quickly and ran to the bathroom covering her face. "MARKUS!" I shouted from across the table. He looked at me with pride but was quickly replace with fear. "How on earth can you let them talk to your wife like that?" "Well I guess it's because she's their stepmom. They had a tough time when their birth mom died in an accident." I get up shaking with violent anger. I walk towards the door to go check on Jean but was wobbling all the way I was so pissed. "Wait one moment." I turned towards him with my face twisted by rage. "Tell her not to come to bed tonight for me. I don't need her crying on me. Thanks" I give him a death look that even the reaper would be afraid of and he gives a little shudder.

I walk out to the main hallway and start towards the bathroom. In the background I can hear Mae cleaning up the table. Outside the house I hear the wind picking up. The trees are shaking their leaves violently like a dog does to a chew toy. Thunder is rolling in the distance and I can hear the rain start lightly. Great another storm just what we f#$king needed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was quarter before midnight. The house was silent except for the storm outside. The lightning flashed through the living room's window with the loud crack of thunder after. The shutters outside were beating against the side of the house while the ones that were able to close were rattling. The evening had been quite eventful at dinner time. I looked down at the rug that was in the middle of the room analyzing it and its purpose for being there. I bring the whisky bottle to my mouth and take a good long drink. I turn my gaze back out the window to watch the storm.

I kept thinking about Jean. _'How could she be married to such and asshole? Why don't she leave him? How should we take care of them?'_ I sigh for a moment and rub the back of my neck. I lift the bottle of whisky and see it's almost empty. I put the bottle back to my lips and finish the bottle off in a few gulps. I stand up from the old dusty couch with the outdated print and walk into the kitchen and discard the bottle in the recycle bin. I then turn over towards the fridge and open it up. The light bulb wasn't on so I turned it to the right to see if it would work. It turned on but light the fridge with very little power.

I look around for another bottle of whisky. I didn't see it on any of the shelves in the fridge. I close its door and look around in the cupboards. After a few minutes of searching I managed to find it behind the rat poison in the cupboard under the sink. _'Good try ma. But I always had a nose for finding my whisky'._ I smile triumphantly and open the bottle and take a good swig of it. I walk back over to the living room and sit back down on the couch. ***Ding ding ding ding***The sound of the grandfather clock chiming surprised me letting me know it's midnight. I sit back and enjoy the chiming of the clock for the few moments it plays. After it finishes I just listen to the ticking while drowning out the rain from outside.

I hear a sniffle behind me and look to see Jean standing there. "Hi sheriff." "Hi sweetie. Are you ok?" She just walks over to me and sits down on the couch next to me. I know she isn't ok; her eyes were bloodshot red and puffy and her face was stained with dried tears. "No." she replies softly. I smile sadly at her while she looks down at the floor. I put my bottle down on the ground and hug her with my right arm with my hand on her head. "It's ok honey you got us here." She just puts her head into my shoulder and starts to sob. I tensed up a little but started to relax. I put both arms around her in a warm embrace and in an attempt to help make her feel better I started to rub her back while humming.

"Shush now sweetie it's ok." "I-I k-know but i-it's hard for me. I-I tried to be a m-mother for them b-but they never even cared to k-know me." After a few seconds she lifts her head and looks up at my face. I smile back at her and wipe her tears with my thumbs. I put my right arm against the back of the couch inviting her to sit with me for a little bit longer. She smiles and leans herself into the back of the couch. I pick my bottle back up and take a sip of it. Being a gentleman I knew offering would only be polite. I tip the bottle towards her as a silent offer. She takes the bottle into her hand and takes a sip of it as well. "IF you don't mind me asking. Why did you marry Markus?" "Hmmm. I guess it's because he reminds me of my first husband. But lately I have been thinking about leaving him."

"You were married before?" She takes another sip of the bottle before handing it to me for a drink. "Yeah. I was 19 when I met my husband-to-be. We married when I was 21 and he was 31. He was a military man and went to the Korean war." I looked at her in surprise with the bottle still at my lips. I raised my eye brow at her and rested the bottle on my thigh. "Really? I myself was in the Korean war too." "Then it's possible you knew him. His name was Jacob Jackson" "Was he a sergeant?" "No he was a lieutenant." I gave a silent oh at her. "Well what were you in the war." "I was a Sergeant Major. I was also a POW." She gasped loudly while holding her hand over her mouth. "Really? That must have been horrible." "Yeah. I hated it. I left the army as soon as I was done. After I was freed from the Korean POW camp the military let me leave before my year was up. You said he was a lieutenant. Did he have a scar over the chest coming down his left shoulder to his stomach?" She nodded her head as she took the bottle from my hand. "Yep that would be him." "Yeah I do remember him in fact. He said he had a father-in-law in the same war as well." "Yep my dad was a drill sergeant but would be called often for duty because of some of his aggressive and violent stalking and hunting techniques in the jungle. It earned him the nick name 'white tiger' but that never changed how my ma saw him nor me or my brothers."

"I actually knew him. He was my drill sergeant when I was still in boot camp. We became very close friends during the war. And I was good buddies with your first husband. Ha ha I remember one time we went to play basketball, on one or our makeshift courts, and as we were walking up to it he tripped on a root as we got on the court. Half of the guys laughed at him and so did I but when he won every game it wasn't so funny anymore." "He always was a serious basketball player. He was even offer to play pro." "Really? Well it doesn't surprise me knowing the skill he had. He even won against your dad one time I remember." She smiled at that last comment. "My dad could never be beaten. Only way you could was if he lost his game or he let you win. I would know that's how my husband ask for permission for my hand."

I take the bottle from her and put it on the ground more interested in her story than the devil's drink itself. I lift my right leg and rest it over my left thigh while still holding my gaze with her beautiful brown eyes. "So your first husband asked for your hand in marriage while playing basketball?" "Yeah I know it sounds a little weird but my dad loved basketball. So it was kind of a way to butter up to my father about it." "Makes sense." Just as I opened my mouth to ask her something else lighting flashed with the thunder cracking for a few minutes. Then all of a sudden the front door opened up because of the wind being so strong. I jumped up from the couch and ran to the front door. I managed to pull it close quickly and then I locked the doors. I sigh and turn back around to see Mae standing at the top of the stairs staring at me. "It's ok Ma. The doors are locked you can go back to bed now." I quietly say to her. She blinks sleepily at me then smiles and goes back up the stairs.

I go back into the living room and find that Jean and the bottle of whiskey is gone. I look and see the light in the kitchen is on and move into the room. "Hope you didn't mind I am a bit hungry. I never got to finish supper." "Sure it's no problem." I walk over to the table and sit down in my usual seat. She pours some soup into a pot and turns on the stove to heat it up. After warming it up she puts it into a bowl and sits down next to me. "How did you meet Markus?" She puts a spoonful of soup in her mouth and hesitates to swallow for a moment. She swallows her soup and then looks at me sadly. "I initally met him through a mutual friend who sadly enough has passed on." "Oh I'm sorry to hear that sweetie. Can I ask how old are you?" "I'm 55." "Really?" "Yep. Hey listen is it ok if I can sleep on the couch. My husband locked the room we were in." "No I can't let a lady sleep on the couch. You can sleep in my room." She looked at me with a shocked expression. "No I can't do that to you it's you're room." "It's no problem. remember I used to be in Korea as a POW. One night on the couch won't kill me." "Well I sure do appreciate it sheriff...I mean Hoyt." We shared a glance at each other. I notice that my breathing has hitched and my heart starts to pound more steadily. Do I really like her? Do I know her?

I stand up while holding her gaze and offer my hand to her. "Come on I'll show you where my room is." She smiles kindly and I can feel my heart start to pick up speed. She picks up the bowl of soup with both hands and starts drinking the broth quickly. After she finished she put it down on the table and grabbed my hand and stood up. I offer my arm to her and she is happy to accept. We walk in silenceto the main hall way and up the stairs. We walk slowly because of some of the old boards like to creak when pressure is applied. We walk down the hall and make it to my room on the left hand side of the hall at the end. She lets go of my arm and I open my door for her. She looks at me with gratitude in her eyes. With the air getting tense around us and with the alcohol in our systems I leaned in close to her face and cupped it. She had her eyelids half closed and was looking anxious at me. I leaned in closer to her closing the gap but before I could place my lips on her we heard a cough. "Ahem." We quickly backed up from each other and was blushing hard. I looked up and saw Drayton standing there; he wasn't impressed. "Thanks again Hoyt. For everything. Good night." I turn my head to Jean to look at her with her face as red as a cherry. "You're very welcome darling. Have a great sleep."

She then nods her head and walks into the room. I stare at the closed door for a few more seconds before turning to Drayton. "What? She needed someone to talk to. Mind your own damn nose Dray." I walk pass him with my hat covering my eyes. As I walked back down the stairs I had a wide grin on my face. Something about that woman makes me crazy. Every time I get close to her I feel like a young boy with a crush. I slumped back into the couch and looked at the clock. 2:45 am I knew that there would be no sleep for me tonight if there was any sleep at all.

Author's Note:

I am really happy with how this chapter came out. If anything needs improving please let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Birds were chirping, the smell of rain lingered in the air with the bright morning rays of the sun peaking through the living room window. I bury my face in my hands in desperate attempt to get a few more Z's. ***Ding ding ding ding* **I move my hands away from my face to look at the clock; 7:00 am. I sit up slowly from laying on the couch and stretch both of my arms in the air while doing an MGM lion yawn. I drop my arms lazily to my side and raise one of my hands to get the sleep out of the corner of my eyes. With my eyes half closed I get up from the couch and make my way over to the main floor bathroom. Just as I was going through the doorway to the main hallway I stub my toe against the door frame. "F#$k!" I hold my foot for a few seconds before feeling my way to the bathroom. I turn on the sink and splash some cold water onto my face to hopefully wake me up. I look at myself in the mirror and realized I look like hell. My eyes had dark circles under them, they were bloodshot as well, and to top it all off I somehow had a small cut over my right eyebrow.

"How the hell?" I put my face only a couple of centimeters way from the glass and examined the cut. I just frown and shrug it off. I stand up straight and before I got my hands in the running water from the sink I notice some blood under one of my fingernails. _'Oh so that's how that happened'_ I get my hands wet and then lather them with the soap bar. "Oh so you're up huh?" damn it was Markus again. "Yeah. And what gets you up so bright an early?" "Well I saw you with my wife last night." I didn't flinch or freeze in my tracks. I turn off the water and dry my hands with a towel. _'What is up with this guy?'_ "Oh you did? And what exactly did ya see?" I was now **really** starting to get pissed off now whenever he came around. I turned and faced him with clear annoyance on my face and he seemed pretty mad as well. "I saw you tried to kiss her." "Well with a woman as fine as that you should treat her better."

I walk past him and walk into the living room and then I move to the kitchen. I notice Uncle Monty eating some oatmeal with apples in it. "Mmmmm. That smells good. Can I have some?" "Help yourself. Over there in the pot on the stove." I walk up to the cupboards and grab a bowl and put it down on the counter next to the stove. I grab the ladle that Monty carelessly left in the pot and scoop a large amount of oatmeal. I notice that the apple pieces aren't in it so I turn to Monty to ask but before I could he seemed to know what I was going to ask. "Apples are in the fridge if ya need them. Also the cinnamon is in the spice cupboard." I turn around and hold the edge of the bowl because it was stupid hot. I put the oatmeal down across from where Monty was sitting. I turn around and go towards the fridge just as I go to open it Markus gets in my way. "Sigh. What do ya want?" "We are not finished talking." "I never said we were Markus I just want to get some breakfast in me is that ok?"

He just grunts at me and from the sound of it he still has a pissed off look on his face. He shifts his weight from one leg to the other before he moves to the side. I open the fridge and grab a red apple. I take it over to the table and grab a knife that was left on the counter. I start cutting the apple into smaller bite sized pieces on the wooden table. I put the pieces of apple into the oatmeal and I look up and see Monty holding a spoon to my face. I realized I didn't grab a spoon when I sat down so I gave him a curt nod of the head. I take the spoon and dip it into my bowl. I bring the hot, steamy food up to my mouth and blow on it for a few seconds. I then put it into my mouth and chew on it. "Sheriff when you're done meet me outside." With my mouth full of oatmeal I just give him a grunt in acknowledgement. I continue to look at my food while hearing loud steps go to the back porch of the house. "Now what in the hell was that all about?" I continued to look at my food but in between mouthfuls I answered Monty. "Oh well last night was a little...how should I say it...tense." Monty carefully placed his spoon in his oatmeal and leaned both his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers while cocking his left eye brow at me.

"The f#$k do you mean? Spit it out come on." I stop for a second and smirk while chewing my food and then I swallow holding Uncle Monty's stare of complete and utter interest. "Well you see" I begin and shuffle my chair closer to the table to lean my elbows on. "Last night after supper it was about quarter to midnight and I had drank half a bottle of whiskey already." "ok so when is the good part?" "Well you see I heard a sniffing noise come from behind me and I see Jean standing there. I knew she wasn't happy so I offered her to sit next to me on the couch." "ok." "So we talked for a little bit and shared a whiskey bottle I had just opened, because I finished off the last one, and then after I closed the front door, because the wind had sucked it open last night" I put a small spoonful of oatmeal in my mouth before continuing. "Anyways she told me that Markus had locked the door to the room that they were staying in so I offered her to stay in my room for the night. So after her refusing a couple of times I managed to convince her to sleep in my room so I walked her to my door." I open my mouth to continue but just as I did Jean stepped into the room stretching her arms while covering her mouth with her right hand yawning.

"Morning Hoyt." She dropped her arms to the side before moving towards the cupboard for a bowl. "Morning darling. How did you sleep?" "Mmmm I slept wonderfully. Thanks again for letting me sleep in your bed." "Sure no problem dumpling." Then I turn to Monty and in a whisper loud enough so he could hear me but Jean couldn't "I'll finish the story later." He just smirks and then winks at me before wheeling away from the table. "Oh yum oatmeal my favourite." "If you want Jean we have some apples in the fridge if you want to add to your oatmeal." "Oh thank you Monty that's mighty kind of ya." She heats up some of her oatmeal and then opens the silverware drawer and grabs a spoon and then places them both on the table. She walks over to the fridge and grabs a granny smith apple and walks over to the table and sits down next to me. I lean my left arm against the table with my hand as a fist holding my face. I watch her cut the apple into bite sized pieces and put them into the oatmeal. I study her face and every move she makes while taking in her gorgeous scent. Almost like a vanilla cinnamon cake. "SHERIFF! GET THE F#$K OUT HERE NOW! I AM DONE WAITING!" We both look to the door at the back of the kitchen. I sigh then smile at her "It's ok darling I'll take care of him." I pat her firmly on the should before getting up from the table and walking out the back door. I walk out into the bright light and cover my eyes with my left hand while holding the door open with my right one.

I pull my sunglasses out from my sheriff jacket's pocket on the left side of the shirt. I put them on and notice Markus is nowhere in sight. I carefully look around my surrounds and only see the laundry hang drying on some line wire and the guest house we have over to the right side of the back of the house which stood about 30 meters from the house next to the small barn. I step down the two wide stairs down to the dusty ground. The wind stood still, the sun was beating down harshly on my head, and my adrenaline started to kick in. Before I knew it a fist came out from my blind spot and landed on the left side of my face forcing me to the ground in a forward stumbling motion. I quickly turn around and see Markus staring at me hatefully. I wipe my mouth and rush forward at his stomach forcing him to the ground. I sat on his stomach and started landing hard punches on his face. Just as I was gonna land a final blow to his nose I felt someone come up from behind me and jump on my back and put me in a head lock pulling me off of Markus. "DON'T YOU EVER HURT MY DAD!" I knew it was Tim and boy how I was mad. I reached behind him and grabbed the collar of his shirt pulling it over his head making him loose his grip on me. I turn his back to me and give him a swift kick in his ass. He stumbles forward and falls on his head. "DON'T TOUCH MY SON!" I tense my body and turn to face Markus. Just as I turned my face to the direction he was coming from he landed a punch on my lip making it bleed. I managed to still stand my ground even though I was a bit dizzy. I looked at him and sucker punched him in the gut making him slightly kneel to the ground then he looked up at me and I punched his right eye.

Tim started charging at me and I stepped out of the way and he hit his head on one of the posts that was helping hold up the laundry then he fell to the ground with a groan. I turn my focus back onto Markus who stood back up and looked at me. We started to charge the other and we had both our fists ready for a punch but before we got to land our last punch on each other Nubbins and Chop Top got in the way to stop us. Nubbins had his arms stretched out and had his back to me and Chop Top was jumping in front of the way of Markus who was trying to move in front of him by dodging left and right. "JUST STAY AWAY FROM MY WIFE!" "WELL IF MAYBE YOU WERE A GENTLEMAN I WOULD!" "ENOUGH THE BOTH OF YOU!" We heard Mae screech out. All four of us turned our heads to the back porch and saw Mae who was pissed as hell, Monty who had a poker face, Rachael who seemed to be cheering for the event. And then I noticed Jean-Louise who was looking mortified at me. I felt my stomach turn upside down and my face turned from being angry to sad. I never wanted to hurt her. She starts to whimper a bit before turning around and runs into the house. I assume that she's going into my bedroom. So I quickly move out from behind Nubbins and go after her. I walk up the steps to the porch and approach the door but before I open it Markus calls out to me again.

"Where in the hell do you think you're going?" I turn around and cross my arms in front of my chest. "To be the man she deserves and needs right now. If you even cared whether it be now or before your marriage then I suggest **you** go comfort her." He just looks ashamed then he looks up to say something else but I have already made it to the main hallway. I take a few deep breaths before I start to run up the stairs calling out her name in hope of a response. "Jean sweetie? Can ya answer me please? Are you ok?" I get up to the top of the stairs and make my way to my room on the end of the hallway on the left hand side of the hall. I knock on the door a few times before I hear an answer. "Hoyt?" "Yeah dumpling. Can I come in?" "Yes please." I open the door and quickly move into the room then shut the door after I move into the room.She dries her face and then she hugs me in a warm tender embrace. I put one of my arms around her waist and the other around her upper back while resting my chin on her head. "I am so sorry you had to see that sugar." I hear a sniffle then she gives me a little squeeze. I give her forehead a small kiss before looking into her eyes. She stands on her tippy toes and gently places a kiss on my lips. I was shocked at first but soon melted into the kiss. I rub her back with my left hand while gently supping her face into my right one. We heard the boards in the hallway creaking indicating someone was approaching so we reluctantly pulled apart from each other and I rested my forehead against hers and grinned happily at her. Just as the boards outside the door start to creak I go back to the arm tender embrace we had. All of a sudden Markus comes in the door and asks "Do you mind if I comfort her **sheriff**." "No Markus." I back off a little from jean to look at her while still holding her in my hands. _'Did she say no?'_ She seemed to sense what I was wondering. "Yes I don't want him to comfort me...I want you Hoyt." I smiled warmly at her before turning my head to see Markus with a shocked expression. He was not happy and with that he approached me from my right side, turned me slightly to face him a little bit and then he sucker punched me in the mouth busting my lip. "THOMAS!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Then in an instant Thomas appeared in the doorway wearing his old coyote mask. Markus freezes mid punch and slowly looks behind him to see Thomas just looming over him. He looks from the corner of his eyes and I see the fear and the horror realization he's having. Mess with me and you get the bull. Thomas effortlessly drags Markus off of me with one hand by the collar of his shirt. "LET GO OF ME!" I look up and see Jean who looked surprised at seeing Thomas. "What's gonna happen to him?" I stand up off the floor and dust myself off. "I don't know. And for all reasons I don't give a damn." I knew what was going to happen to him and to his son Tim. I knew that she would never look at me again if I told her what was going to happen. For the better of things and to help put her mind at ease I lied. For the time being...it's the best thing to do.

Author's Note:

Ok so this is my longest chapter yet. I am quite happy with how everything is turning out. Oh just a warning for the next chapter(s)* it may get a little dark in tone. *I am hoping to have the dark tone of the story out in one chapter but it might take a couple of chapters but who knows*


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"OW" I yelped in pain. Me and Jean had moved into the kitchen and she had got the first aid kit and was now treating my wounds. "Oh now stop fussing it only makes it worse." I looked at the table and hand my right arm laying on it with my left hand on my hip. I looked at her and saw that she was deep in concentration. I looked around the room to see that Luda Mae was cleaning the pot of oatmeal and Monty was in the living room reading a book. But from how their body language was it was very loud and clear that they were straining their ears to hear us talk.

"Thank you." I looked at Jean and she looked up at me and smiled. "You didn't have to do that ya know." "I know sweetie. I just don't understand why you put up with them." She puts the warm cloth of water into the bowl and shakes it a bit to get some of the blood out. She twists the cloth in her hand just to get rid of most of the water in it. "Like I said before Hoyt. He reminds me of my first husband but now I see I made a foolish choice. And now here we are stuck in your county, in your home, and he beats the shit out of you." "Well don't forget I beat the shit out of him too." She dabs the cloth on my face and by accident touches my busted lip. "OW!" I shouted. "So sorry Hoyt."

I just grab the cloth from her hand and growl a little. "It's ok sweetie just let me do it ok. And sorry I yelled." "It's ok I understand." She lets her hands drop in front of her stomach with the right one holding the left hand with it being like a half made fist. I carefully dab the cloth on my lip and my face while thinking about how Thomas is doing with Markus. I hear Monty's wheelchair squeaking as he rolled into the kitchen and stopped next to me. "Hey Drayton's upstairs waiting for ya." "Sigh...ok thanks Monty. Where's Nubbins and Chop Top?" "They heard the fight and fled the house for a while. Should be back by supper time though." I give a slight nod to him and then look Jean-Louise in the eyes. "I am **really **sorry you had to see that mess darling. It won't happen again. I promise."

She just looks at me for what seems like an eternity before she closes her eyes, smiles at me, and has her head titled to the side a bit. "It's ok Hoyt. And please don't make a promise that you can't keep." She opens her eyes and puts her hand on my should and gives it a slight squeeze and pat. "Well I should probably check on Tim and Rachael. Again I am sorry for what Markus did to you Hoyt." I just groan when Monty gives me a hard pat on my other shoulder. "It's no problem and we were kind of hoping you could stay a little while longer...if it's no problem. It's not often we get visitors other than our other kin the Sawyer's." "Well I'm not sure if it is a good idea." Luda Mae turns around and dries her hands off with her dirt stained apron. "Oh we don't mind. It's no trouble at all. But if you need to leave that's ok too." She ponders this for a moment before looking up at us. "Well I do have to submit some papers to the state to be processed. I would need to leave for maybe at least 2 weeks."

"Or we could have my relative Drayton do it. Would that be ok?" "If he could that would be great but I think I should still go with him just in case they do need me in person." "Well that sounds like a plan. Hoyt go see Drayton now and please let him know of our discussion." I nod to Luda Mae and start towards the main hallway to go up the stairs. Just as I go through the open doorway from the kitchen to the living room I feel a pair of arms hug me from behind. "Thank you." I hear Jean whisper into my back. "You're welcome." I turn around and face her and kiss her forehead and her right cheek before continuing to the stairs leaving a shocked Mae, Monty, and a happily surprised Jean.

I walk up the creaky stairs and down the hallway on the second floor to my room. I open the door and see Drayton looking out the window while holding the curtain with his index and middle finger. "Hey. Been waiting a while now for ya." "Yeah sorry about that. How you doing?" He just looks at me and raises an eyebrow before scoffing at me. "Me? What about you? You look like crap." "Yeah and I feel like it too now what was it you wanted to see me about?" He looks out the old dusty window with a long crack going from the top left corner to the middle. "Well now I have been searching through my memory of who Jean is." I shut the door and walk over to my bed and sit on the edge of it while having my back turned from Drayton. "Not only that but Nubbins also remembers her too." "Really?" "Yeah you remember old lady Johnston who lived in the next farm land?" I smiled thinking about her baking. "Yeah course I do. She always won the baking contest with her apple and blueberry pies. What about her?" "She was Jean's Great Aunt." I rest my elbows on my thighs and interlock my finger together. I looked out of the corner of my eye to the clock sitting on the end table near the head of the bed. For a few silent moments other than the ticking of the clock before I say anything else.

"Are you sure about this?" "Yeah and it turns out she was also invited to your-" "**I don't want to hear it!**" I said in a very dark menacing tone. Drayton left the window and came over to stand in front of me crossing his arms in the process. "Well I thought it would help and time too but I guess some wounds can't fully be healed huh?" I stand up and glare at him when our eyes meet. He show sympathy and sadness towards me and I hated it. I walk back towards the door but before I put my hand on the doorknob I remember the conversation between me and the others in the kitchen. "Hey Drayton can I ask ya for a favor?" "Hmm depends on what it is." "Well I know you, Nubbins, and Chop Top are heading home tomorrow morning and Jean-Louise has some papers that need to get processed by the government. Is it ok if she goes with you guys for a couple of weeks?" "Sure no problem besides the family reunion is in 4 weeks. We will probably bring her back then if it's not processed in the 2 weeks expected." "Ok that's fine. Don't let her meet your granddad." I hear him shuffle his feet for a second and I turned around to face him. "He and grandma passed away 2 days before we came for our visit." "I'm...I'm sorry to hear that." "Ah it's ok it was about time that they went." "Anyways I'll let Jean-Louise know. Thanks Drayton...for everything." Before I heard his reply I open the door and shut it close once I get into the hallway.

"Sheriff." I turn my head and see Tim standing there with Jean behind him. "Hi Hoyt! I think Tim has something he would like to say." The boy looks up at me very timidly before he almost whispers out "I'm sorry I hurt you sheriff." I make a face like you would if you were smelling rotten eggs at Tim. My arm twitched a little and just as I reached my hand out for him to shake he flinched and his head ducked a little down with his body standing still his hands clenched into fists and his eyes tightly shut. "I ain't gonna hurt you boy. I accept your apology." He carefully opens one of his eyes and soon relaxed and smiled a bit. His hand was shaking when he reached mine but he shook it firmly. "Thank you son. I really appreciate it." He smiles at me warmly which is better than how he was acting before. "Listen is it ok if I talk to your mom for a minute?" He nods his head and walks down the hall and then goes down the stairs. Jean's gaze had been following the boy then she turned her attention to me. "Well what did he say?" "He said it would be ok. Also just to let you know we are having a family reunion in about 4 weeks so if the documents take longer he will just bring you back then. Is that ok?" She smiled at me and then her hands grabbed mine and with her thumbs she rubbed the skin between my knuckles and thumb. "That's fine Hoyt." I smiled kindly at the woman in front of me and squeezed her hands slightly. "Hi you two." We turned around and saw Drayton leaning against the wall with his hand in his pockets. "Well I guess I should pack my stuff. I'll see you later Hoyt." I watched her form as she walked away and noticed how her figure was petite, her brown locks swaying gently from side to side, and her smooth legs were a thing of beauty.

Once she went down the stairs Drayton mentioned something I forgot. "What about the kids?" "They might need to go with you. Thomas has Markus in the basement. We'll take care of him once you guys leave." I only hear Drayton grunt as an acknowledgement. "I guess I have to borrow the old trailer." "Heh I guess you will." And with that we made our way down stairs to meet with the family in the living room.

Author's Note:

I am quite happy with how this came out. I am thinking of making the darker part come a little bit later when I introduce someone new later on. Let me know what you guys think.


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